YINDJIBANRDI NATION SET TO OWN, OPERATE $1.1 BILLION PILBARA DESALINATION PLANT
Premier Roger Cook (centre) with Yindjibarndi Chairman Michael Woodley (on right) at the $1.1 billion desalination plant on Monday.
One of the Pilbara’s most prominent Native Title holder groups is set to become the first indigenous owners of a $1.1 billion desalination plant in WA, after a major deal struck with Rio Tinto and the state government.
Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation-controlled Yindjibarndi Water will soon co-own the new $1.1 billion desalination plant, which will ultimately produce eight gigalitres of water a year for thousands of new homes and major industry across the Pilbara.
Premier Roger Cook joined Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO Matthew Holcz and Yindjibarndi Chairman Michael Woodley to announce the deal in Dampier today.
Mr Cook said it was the first of a series of desalination plants he hoped could be built and delivered by future industry partnerships with native title holders in regional areas around the state.
YAC Chair Michael Woodley with Yindjibarndi Water’s Mike Hollett, discussing the major deal for the Native Title holders to buy the desalination plant currently being built at Rio Tinto’s operations hub in Dampier.
It follows a similar deal sealed reached in May between Rio Tinto and the Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation, a partnership between Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation and ACEN Corporation, on a 75 MW solar project in the West Pilbara, with a 30-year power purchase agreement in place with Rio Tinto.
The three parties have struck a non-binding agreement to sell the plant to Yindjibarndi Water, which will ultimately operate it once a formal financial deal is signed and Rio Tinto completes building the plant in about 18 months, while Rio Tinto will buy back four gigalitres of water a year.
Once running at full capacity, the plant is estimated to provide about four billion litres of water a year for a further 10,000 homes to be built in Karratha, Wickham, Roebourne, and Point Samson, and help meet Rio Tinto’s industrial needs in Dampier.
Chairman of the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation, Stanley Warrie, was also on site inspecting the desalination plant on Monday.
Mr Woodley said the deal was the result of the Yindjibarndi People's longstanding drive to protect water on their Ngurra (Country), and the goal to build shared understanding and shared responsibility.
“As witnesses of the impacts of groundwater over-abstraction on cultural sites and the ecology at Millstream, Yindjibarndi Elders have always put water on the agenda of every discussion,” he said.
““We formed Yindjibarndi Water as a majority Yindjibarndi-owned entity in 2021 to find a solution to over-abstraction from Millstream for the West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme, knowing that this would be particularly challenging given the region's critical water needs for both public use and industry.”
Inside the desalination plant funded by the WA Government and Rio Tinto, that the mining company is building and intends to sell to Yindjibarndi WaterCo.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Matthew Holcz said the Dampier Seawater Desalination Plant was important for the West Pilbara to meet the long-term water needs of communities, industry and government, while respecting the cultural significance of water to Traditional Owners.
He said the Tindjibarndi WaterCo proposal for the future of the plant was “compelling”.
But he said while the mining company would keep receiving four gigalitres of water a year from the plan, to offset abstraction from the Bungaroo aquifer, the miner did not need to own and operate the infrastructure.
An aerial shot of the WA-Rio Tinto owned desalination plant under construction in Dampier, set to be sold to Yindjibarndi Water.
But for Mr Woodley, a key part of Native Title Holders’ involvement was to help protect groundwater supplies and sacred sites linked to that water, from further damage from over-extraction in the Millstream and Bungaroo aquifers.
“Yindjibarndi Water conducted independent scientific and cultural studies at Millstream and presented these to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation in 2024, leading last year to a partnership agreement with the State Government and the Water Corporation under which groundwater bores would be relocated away from culturally and environmentally sensitive areas.
“The Yindjibarndi People's longstanding concerns about over-abstraction have always been coupled with an aspiration to offer positive solutions through respectful and collaborative partnerships.
“This agreement will strengthen water security in the West Pilbara; sustainably diversify water supplies for the Water Corporation and Rio Tinto; and deliver much-needed environmental relief while preserving Yindjibarndi cultural heritage at Millstream.
“This is another step on the Yindjibarndi path to self-determination by delivering a secure, long-term economic return and, over time, enabling us to grow operational capability through employment, training and contracting arrangements."
WA Premier Roger Cook, joined by Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO Matthew Holcz and Yindjibarndi Chairman Michael Woodley, with State Minister Daniel Pastorelli and Member for Pilbara Kevin Michel on Monday.
Yindjibarndi Water is 60% owned by the Yindjibarndi People through Yindjibarndi Wealth Pty Ltd, with The Right Water Company Pty Ltd owning the remaining 40% as a minority shareholder.
Perth-based firm Affinity Capital Group partnered with Yindjibarndi Water’s nominee entity, Yindjibarndi WaterCo, to raise the capital to purchase the DSDP, through its funds management arm, the Pilbara Water Fund.